Representative Greer of Bennington introduced H.153 on May 2, telling the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee the bill would add aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and guardians to the list of people eligible to obtain certified copies of Vermont birth and death certificates.

The measure matters because family relationships have changed, sponsors said, and the narrower list adopted in recent years can prevent relatives who handle end-of-life and genealogical matters from obtaining documents. "The way the birth and death certificates who can go get a certified copy at the clerk's office right now is very limited," Representative Greer said, describing conversations with town clerks and local officials in Bennington.

Tucker Anderson, legislative counsel, said section 1 of H.153 would amend 18 V.S.A. § 5016, which governs access to certified copies of birth and death certificates. Anderson said the bill would expand the list in subsection (b)(2)(A) to add "aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, or guardian" to registrant, spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling and grandparent. He also noted the statute already includes provisions allowing public agencies to access records when necessary.

Greer said the state narrowed public access to certified copies in about 2018–2019 amid concerns about fraud. He told the committee he contacted Vital Records and the Department of Health to request fraud data but "I was not given it or shown it." Representative Hitzfeld said she has long requested statistics on fraudulent record requests and has not been able to get a number; she said she supports adding nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.

Committee members discussed broader history and previous amendments to vital records law. Anderson said Vermont had relatively open access through the mid-2000s and that the legislature has periodically revisited access and other vital-records authorities, including delegations to the Department of Health to adopt rules on some changes.

No vote or formal committee action was recorded during the introduction. Committee members indicated the bill would move forward for further consideration and review.

The committee did not receive or review numeric evidence of fraud during the session; sponsors said they sought that data from Vital Records and the Department of Health but were not shown it.

The bill remains at introduction and will next follow the committee's standard review process.